1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for the emergency starting of a fuel cell vehicle that, when fuel cells are in a non-generation state and simultaneously a high-voltage battery fails during normal operation, the fuel cell vehicle enters an emergency fuel cell generation mode in order to force the fuel cells to operate in place of the failed high voltage battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a fuel cell hybrid vehicle, particularly a system using fuel cells as a main power source, a fuel battery should be in a normal generation state in order to ensure that the vehicle is operating properly. However, in some fuel cell vehicles, there are situations in which power must be supplied to a vehicle load using only a high-voltage battery (e.g., during idling, during starting, and emergency Electric Vehicle (EV) mode operation), in which case if the high-voltage battery fails to operate as designed, it is impossible for the vehicle to be started or operated.
Furthermore, when the starting of fuel cell vehicle using a high-voltage battery fails, some systems provide emergency starting systems which operate via a power converter that converts a low voltage (e.g., 12V) into a higher voltage. Accordingly, a low voltage DC-DC converter (LDC) is required to convert a high voltage into a low voltage and then charge the battery at e.g., 12 V. In order to apply this type of technology, problems arise in that the LDC must be designed in a bidirectional manner so that it can convert a low voltage into a high voltage and a separate power conversion device suitable for this emergency starting is required. Additionally, high voltage circuits in the vehicle must be redesigned in order to accommodate this system.
The above description of the background technology is intended merely to improve an understanding of the background of the present invention, but should not be construed as recognizing that the above-described technologies correspond to conventional technologies that are known to those having ordinary knowledge in the technical filed to which the present invention pertains.